The world today faces a humanitarian crisis AND an environmental crisis – both of which need careful consideration to balance the needs of humans with those of the planet.
From a sanitaryware perspective, this requires meticulous regard for both the rights of women and girls to have access to suitable sanitary products, and the protection of the environment from the devastating effects of single use plastic and disposable sanitary products.
From an environmental perspective, it is clear that disposable menstrual products are a huge source of single use plastic packaging – leading to the term crimson carbon.
“One pad equates to four plastic bags, and every woman on the planet who uses pads or tampons will go through around 5 000 to 15 000 pads and tampons in their lifetime. This also means they’re expected to throw away almost 200 kilograms of period product packaging. It is estimated that menstruating women in South Africa produce 52.4 million kilograms of sanitary product waste, destined for landfills and sewer systems, annually,” confirms Sherie de Wet, Founder and CEO at Palesa Pads.
These products not only fill up landfills, but contain super absorbent polymers (SAP), which simply don’t decompose – and when they eventually do break down, they release microplastics, which contaminate soil, water, oceans, food sources, and air. Add to this the water, pesticide, and land requirements to produce these products from cotton and rayon, and it’s clear that crimson carbon is unsustainably high.
Reduce crimson carbon and fight poverty
Now, balancing the need to reduce crimson carbon with the fight against period poverty – ensuring every woman and girl has access to sanitary products – is essential. Thankfully, reusable sanitary products can offer a solution to both crises; on the condition that they are easily and sustainably washable to ensure the life cycle assessment (LCA) still shows a movement in the right direction.
“The goal should be to ensure all women and girls who menstruate have access to the resources to manage their menstruation with safety and dignity, while also minimising the environmental impact of necessary sanitary items,” adds de Wet.
This is where the social enterprise, Palesa Pads, offers a unique solution. Through the manufacturing and distribution of high-quality, reusable cloth sanitary pads in Southern Africa, Palesa Pads (which is currently the only SABS Compliant reusable pad in the South African market) is effectively restoring dignity to millions of women and girls – while protecting the environment with products that are hand-washable in a small amount of water.
“We envision a world where sanitary pad waste is a thing of the past. We do all we can to bring affordable, sustainable, eco-friendly solutions to every woman and girl. In the process, we have kept 122 million disposable pads out of landfills,” concludes de Wet.
Period poverty competition
5 The Green Times readers now stand a chance to win a Palesa Reusable Kickstart Kits with drying clips, worth R389 each!
Write to marketing@palesapads.com with an answer to the following question:
- How many years does it take on average for disposable pads to break down in the environment?
Each kit includes:
- 6 high quality, reusable Palesa Pads, which cater for a light to heavy flow
- a cleaning kit to keep your reusable pads sparkling clean
Benefits of Palesa Reusable Pads:
- Reusable (every reusable Palesa Pads keeps 200 disposable pads out of the environment)
- Easy to clean and they don’t stain
- No leaks
- No chemicals (so no smells and fewer, if any, skin rashes or irritations)
- High quality - they last for up to 5 years
- Saves you a huge amount of money!
Total value of the 5 prizes: R1945.00
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